by Talina Norris

Created on: January 07, 2009

As a pregnant mom who is planning a home birth I know how hard and overwhelming choosing a midwife can be. There are many factors to consider when choosing a midwife for your home birth. The key is brainstorming issues and important factors, prioritizing your preferences and interviewing a ton of candidates.

One of the first things I had to consider in my own midwife search was the state laws on midwifery.

WHAT TYPE OF MIDWIFE DO YOU WANT AND ARE THEY LEGAL?
There are various types of midwives to choose from and many people are unaware of the legislation in certain states that prohibits various types of midwives from practicing.

The laws in some states make finding certain types of midwives difficult because those midwives practicing unlawfully are often laying low to protect themselves.

In Indiana, for example, right now only certified nurse midwives (CNM) are legal, there are also certified professional midwives (CPM) who practice in Indiana and even "lay midwives" that you can find to attend a home birth but the law considers those to be illegal here.

In my own research I found that those CNM practicing in my city were only allowed to attend births at a hospital or clinic. This quickly ruled out the possibility of using a CNM for my own home birth and I had to begin looking for CPM instead.

Knowing the legal status of practicing midwives in my area really helped me to narrow down the midwife options before I even began searching for specific providers. Once you know what type of midwife you will want it is time to start researching the finances and insurance coverage of midwives.

WILL YOUR INSURANCE COVER A MIDWIFE?
Call your insurance company and find out if they even cover midwives. Some insurance plans will cover CNM that work out of clinics or hospitals others will not. Sometimes you will have to pay for your home birthing midwife out of pocket and later fight for insurance to reimburse you after the delivery. Often times the state laws regarding midwives will reflect the types of providers that are covered by insurance companies. The best thing you can do is figure out where your insurance stands on midwives first.

In addition to calling your insurance company about specific providers you should take a look at which facilities are covered by your insurance. It helped me to make a list of all the hospitals and birthing centers near me, then I called around and learned about they types of births they support.

Water birth was something I was considering so I asked

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